The present disclosure relates generally to authentication and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for effecting secure physical and commercial transactions in a contactless manner using biometric identity validation.
Identity validation, transaction approval, and similar issues are becoming increasingly important. The widespread use of credit cards for remote transactions presents the need to ensure that the person making a purchase is authorized to do so. In addition, security concerns increase the need for convenient and reliable identity validation for access to secure areas of businesses, government offices, and similar areas.
Although attempts have been made to solve meet these needs, a satisfactory solution has not yet been achieved. Many proposed solutions are unwieldy, fail to provide identity validation, require connections to external devices, or have similar issues.
Accordingly, what is needed is an apparatus and method for effecting secure physical and commercial transactions in a contactless manner using biometric identity validation. It is desirable that the apparatus be relatively self-contained and that it interact with other devices without requiring physical contact. It is also desirable that the apparatus be easy to transport and use, and that it accommodate a variety of different applications.